Yorkshire must do without Miller

Before David Miller was forced to leave the field after being hit in the face by an Umar Gul short ball, he set up Yorkshire's chase with a solid 22. When he returned Miller finished off the match with a 17 run blitz in six balls. But Yorkshire will have to do without him in their second qualifying match and if they make it into the main draw because Miller will only be available for them again if Yorkshire reach the semi-finals.

Miller will play for his South African franchise, the Dolphins, in the local first-class competition from Thursday, something that was agreed upon before the Champions League started. "David wants to play four-day cricket and when we looked at this schedule, this was the compromise we could reach," Jesse Chellan, chief executive of the Dolphins told ESPNcricinfo.

The Dolphins play two Sunfoil Series matches during the CLT20 which ruled Miller out of Yorkshire's squad - a huge loss for them if captain Andrew Gale's words are anything to go by. He hailed Miller's contribution to Yorkshire's success and his hand in their progress thus far.

"David has just fitted into our dressing room so well," Gale said. "Jason Gillespie is big on everyone pulling in the same direction and David does that. But, then he has also got the x-factor on the field and can take the game away from the opposition. In previous years, we have struggled for that guy. Now, we've got two in David Miller and Gary Ballance."

Miller's aggressive side was on display early in his innings, when he swept Satichra Senanayake in his first over. But Miller had to temper his intent as Yorkshire slipped to 66 for 4. Together with Adil Rashid, he stabilised them. Gale was pleased to see that when Miller came back on, the stage was set for him to show off his natural game.

"He must have come out pretty angry after that," he joked. "I asked him if he was going to bat again after he got hit and he said 'absolutely yes'. He showed great courage and character and it was also the perfect situation for him to go out and do what he does."

Even though Miller had become Yorkshire's go-to man, Gale believes the team can continue to perform well without him. "The most pleasing thing about today is that we weren't at our best so there is room for improvement," Gale said. "We were probably at about 70 or 80 percent."

Their opposition, Uva, will also want to step up as their next match becomes even more of a must-win. Andrew McDonald, their Australian allrounder, said the team may regret taking the wicket that allowed Miller to come back to the crease.

"If we didn't get Dan Hodgson out, we might have won the game but then again, if we didn't hit him in the head, they may have run away with the game," McDonald said. "He is a great player in his own right. We fought hard and stayed in the game for a long time and thought we got ourselves into a winning position."

McDonald said the team will hope for the best in their next match, knowing they must beat Trinidad and Tobago to have a chance of qualifying, but wish their time in the tournament could be longer. "There's got to be a better way than travelling all the way to play two games," he said. "Maybe there should be four teams in the qualifiers."

@Cpt.Meanster : Buddy so the rules will be the same? If T&T wins this time and doesn't win the WIT20, they will still be there because they are the current champions? Is it the way things are working? Let two IPL teams qualify and the third(at worst case the fourth irrespective of the champion) get into the qualifiers and earn their place. For a contributor like BCCI, they can afford to have additional team in qualifier but 4 straight teams into the competition is not providing the level to field to others. One VERY bad decision which will have a impact on the future of tournament itself.

Dummy4
on October 10, 2012, 3:03 GMT

How South Africa managed to not pick Miller for the just concluded T20 world cup still beggars belief.

Jay
on October 10, 2012, 1:18 GMT

@LiamF: Cutting the IPL teams completely from this competition is like virtually getting rid of the tournament itself. India or the BCCI rather are the founders of this tournament along with CA and SACB. While I do agree that the 4 IPL teams concept is ridiculous, there should be 2 IPL teams from next year with no qualification round. Actually it's usually 3 IPL teams. The reason for the 4th IPL team this year is because the present CLT20 champions are Mumbai Indians. By virtue of that position, they are in the competition. If a non-IPL team wins the CLT20 this year, then there will ONLY be 3 IPL teams next year unless they change the rules of engagement.

Liam
on October 9, 2012, 21:23 GMT

...Or maybe should be no qualifiers at all and the 4th IPL team to be cut altogether.

Prateek
on October 9, 2012, 19:04 GMT

Really liked yorkshire's performance today.David miller! What a gutsy knock despite being injured.Do they have a replacement for him ?

Dummy4
on October 9, 2012, 18:03 GMT

when most of guys left there home sides its v nice that he is playing for his owne side

Satish
on October 10, 2012, 10:07 GMT

@Cpt.Meanster : Buddy so the rules will be the same? If T&T wins this time and doesn't win the WIT20, they will still be there because they are the current champions? Is it the way things are working? Let two IPL teams qualify and the third(at worst case the fourth irrespective of the champion) get into the qualifiers and earn their place. For a contributor like BCCI, they can afford to have additional team in qualifier but 4 straight teams into the competition is not providing the level to field to others. One VERY bad decision which will have a impact on the future of tournament itself.

Dummy4
on October 10, 2012, 3:03 GMT

How South Africa managed to not pick Miller for the just concluded T20 world cup still beggars belief.

Jay
on October 10, 2012, 1:18 GMT

@LiamF: Cutting the IPL teams completely from this competition is like virtually getting rid of the tournament itself. India or the BCCI rather are the founders of this tournament along with CA and SACB. While I do agree that the 4 IPL teams concept is ridiculous, there should be 2 IPL teams from next year with no qualification round. Actually it's usually 3 IPL teams. The reason for the 4th IPL team this year is because the present CLT20 champions are Mumbai Indians. By virtue of that position, they are in the competition. If a non-IPL team wins the CLT20 this year, then there will ONLY be 3 IPL teams next year unless they change the rules of engagement.

Liam
on October 9, 2012, 21:23 GMT

...Or maybe should be no qualifiers at all and the 4th IPL team to be cut altogether.

Prateek
on October 9, 2012, 19:04 GMT

Really liked yorkshire's performance today.David miller! What a gutsy knock despite being injured.Do they have a replacement for him ?

Dummy4
on October 9, 2012, 18:03 GMT

when most of guys left there home sides its v nice that he is playing for his owne side

No featured comments at the moment.

Dummy4
on October 9, 2012, 18:03 GMT

when most of guys left there home sides its v nice that he is playing for his owne side

Prateek
on October 9, 2012, 19:04 GMT

Really liked yorkshire's performance today.David miller! What a gutsy knock despite being injured.Do they have a replacement for him ?

Liam
on October 9, 2012, 21:23 GMT

...Or maybe should be no qualifiers at all and the 4th IPL team to be cut altogether.

Jay
on October 10, 2012, 1:18 GMT

@LiamF: Cutting the IPL teams completely from this competition is like virtually getting rid of the tournament itself. India or the BCCI rather are the founders of this tournament along with CA and SACB. While I do agree that the 4 IPL teams concept is ridiculous, there should be 2 IPL teams from next year with no qualification round. Actually it's usually 3 IPL teams. The reason for the 4th IPL team this year is because the present CLT20 champions are Mumbai Indians. By virtue of that position, they are in the competition. If a non-IPL team wins the CLT20 this year, then there will ONLY be 3 IPL teams next year unless they change the rules of engagement.

Dummy4
on October 10, 2012, 3:03 GMT

How South Africa managed to not pick Miller for the just concluded T20 world cup still beggars belief.

Satish
on October 10, 2012, 10:07 GMT

@Cpt.Meanster : Buddy so the rules will be the same? If T&T wins this time and doesn't win the WIT20, they will still be there because they are the current champions? Is it the way things are working? Let two IPL teams qualify and the third(at worst case the fourth irrespective of the champion) get into the qualifiers and earn their place. For a contributor like BCCI, they can afford to have additional team in qualifier but 4 straight teams into the competition is not providing the level to field to others. One VERY bad decision which will have a impact on the future of tournament itself.

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